"That's no trouble at all. My granddaughter, Becky, needs something to keep her busy." The elderly woman stared pointedly at the girl beside her.
As they glared, Garret got the distinct impression that they hadn't walked in on anything unusual.
"We love weddings! We just finished my sister's a few weeks ago. What did you have in mind?" Becky pulled a binder out from beneath the counter and sat it in front of Rachael.
"Um, probably something standard. Nothing too—"
"Do you have sample pictures?" Garret cut her off. He wasn't about to watch her while away her time on things she didn't want anymore. As far as he could tell, she'd done quite enough of that already.
No, he'd be damned if Rachael didn't get exactly what she wanted.
"We certainly do." Becky flipped the pages of the book and Garret sat down next to Rachael and prepared himself for the fight of a lifetime.
"I still think they're a little too wild." Rachael nearly closed the door on him as they entered the house that night, but he only laughed in response. She'd spent most of the day waffling on her choices before eventually picking the thing she would have picked if the outside world hadn't gotten in the way.
"They are called wild flowers."
"I know, but...I don't know." She plopped onto the couch and he stared at her for a long minute. The last time he'd been on that couch...
The scratching of paws against hardwood alerted him to Tesla's presence and he bent down to greet his drooling friend.
"Wanna say hi?" He asked Rachael.
She scooted farther away, "I'm good."
"Come on, it's not so bad. Give it a try. If you do, I will listen to you rethink the bridesmaids dresses for an hour."
He grasped Tesla's collar and led him closer to an increasingly anxious-looking Rachael. Still, she held out her hand and, as she touching hot lava, she gently and quickly stroked his fur.
"See? That's not so bad, is it?"
In lieu of answering, she bit her bottom lip, and when Tesla licked her calf, she pulled both legs onto the couch.
Apparently, that would be enough bonding for one day.
"So...what happens now?" She raised her eyebrows.
"I thought I'd make dinner."
"No, I meant, like... You don't plan on sleeping in my bed or anything, right?"
Why hadn't he thought of that? Sure, having him and the dog would have been stress enough on her, but those kinds of arrangements?
Ugh, he was such an idiot.
"No, no. I'll sleep on the couch."
"Except for when you come up every hour on the hour to monitor my sleep positions?"
"Exactly."
She nodded, a half smile tilting her lips, "I kind of liked the dog."
"I kind of knew you would."
"And I like of liked you helping me today."
"Oh yeah?" He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the doorframe. From this distance, with her legs pulled up against her chest like that, he could almost see the triangle of her panties between her thighs. He tried his best not to look, but the more he tried to focus away, the more it called to his attention.
"It was...nice."
"Yeah, it was for me too."
He smiled briefly, and then stepped into the kitchen to uncork a bottle of wine. Hopefully, by the time he revisited the living room, her feet would be on the ground and his head would be on his shoulders again.
Tonight, they were going to toast to a very unusual bargain.
8
When Garret got home, bearing Chinese and an industrial bottle of Pinot, it was to find Rachael lounging in one of the wooden kitchen chairs, her drawn face lit only by the harsh light of her computer screen. He stood in the doorframe for a moment, surveying the way her pretty mouth scrunched up at whatever she was reading and the way one of her delicate feet absentmindedly pet Tesla under the table.
Repressing an internal sigh, he wondered for the millionth time what he was going to do about her.
If he was honest with himself, it wasn’t just the fact that she’d been glued in front of her computer from morning till night that worried him, though that was no small concern. He had to do something about her. Or, more accurately, about the fact that her feelings worried him so much. This was only a business deal. There was no reason for him to be going to bed, wondering what she was thinking in the next room. What she was wearing. If she was wearing anything at all…
Rachael sighed, and he took it as a sign to flick on the light. With a start, she stared around for him, the serious scowl on her face replaced with a wan smile instead.
“Hey there,” she sounded tired. Had she not been sleeping? He should…
No. He shouldn’t do anything. It was none of his business what she did.